A Tale of Love and War
by Dav Flamerock
Summary: The tale of a Sangheili named Erpa 'Lytamee, who falls in love and with the power he gleams from that love singlehandedly defeats all opposition... except love itself. A tragedy.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

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Origin: FirestoneD1-2304

Destin: Coalition Database

Ref: Erpa 'Lytamee

Erpa 'Lytamee was definitely the most influential sangheili I believe I have ever met. His story, however, begins long before the account of his life written by Ceru, that I have attached here. I can't predict how our society will change, what with the fall of the Covenant and then the Age of Famine. But for any who read this account, you must understand the true history of the Human-Covenant War.

In 2525 the United Nations Space Command, or the UNSC, lost contact with the Outer Colony of Harvest. Intrigued, they sent a battlegroup to the farming planet. The ships encountered an alien presence – and a completely destroyed Harvest. Thus, the Covenant began the war in a battle who's details have been lost in the Age of Famine.

It wasn't long before we learned about the many species that made up the Covenant. Most have living examples currently in the Coalition. Needless to say, we learned in battle of the eight allied alien species that made up the Covenant.

The first species we encountered were the Unggoy, who we called grunts. They definitely lived up to their name. Standing at 5 feet tall, the Unggoy were very cowardly and made up the bulk of the Covenant army. They also were in the servants of the Covenant hierarchy. An aspect of these creatures that the UNSC took advantage of was the fact that they breathed methane, and so always wore breathers.

Then were the Kig-Yar, the jackals as we called them. They were short and skinny, with sharp senses and an almost birdlike appearance and speech. They were scouts and sentinels in the army, with only two possible ranks – sentinel (or Gag-Rak) or sniper (Yar-Kai). Gag-Rak Kig-Yar made up most of the ranks, and they were easily discernable by the glowing green transparent shields they held. The circular devices were strapped to their wrists and could easily be deactivated when they weren't in use.

Another species we rarely saw on the battlefield but were very present in the Covenant were the insect-like Yanme'e, or drones. They were servants and scouts, useful in that they could fly but not much else besides. A Yanme'e of importance was Korajyra, a shy creature who was 'Lytamee's best friend.

Then there were the Mgalekgolo (or sometimes just Lekgolo) – the hunters. Massive creatures who stood 8 feet tall... in a combat crouch. They were covered in metal of an unknown alloy that was completely impervious to anything short of a full-on rocket. They carried huge shields of the same metal and had fuel rod guns – the plasma rocket launcher – built into their gauntlets. Another weapon often overlooked was the razor-sharp spines on their backs. The only weak spot on a Lekgolo's armor was the open patch on their lower backs. Another interesting aspect of the Lekgolo was that they always came in bonded pairs. The only individual Lekgolo to retain sanity was the leader of the Inquisition, the Hand of Truth.

Moving towards the higher ranks were the Jiralhanae, the brutes. These huge apes were part of the downfall of the Covenant. They could never get along with Sangheili. Ever.

Then we came to the two founders of the Covenant. The Prophets, or the San'Shyumm, evolved in the same system as the Sangheili, who we call elites. The two species were the first to find technology left by a long-lost species simply called the 'Forerunners'. The technology was so advanced that the two species ceased their war, made the Forerunners their gods, and formed the Covenant. Incorporating the Forerunner tech into every aspect of their lives, the two species set off together to find and convert every alien species they met... except humanity.

The San'Shyumm were the religious leaders of the Covenant, under complete rule of the three High Prophets.

The Sangheili were the warriors and scientists. They led the Covenant military under rule of the San'Shyumm. Their feud with the Jiralhanae began the Covenant's downfall. Erpa 'Lytamee, Ceru 'Thilett, and many other important people were Sangheili.

Finally came the Huragok, the engineers. One can barely call them Covenant, for these floating tentacled beings had no sense of loyalty. They lived to fix technology, dissect technology, and learn. They would help a human or a Sangheili in a heartbeat.

The Covenant were superior in almost every way, but we had one advantage – the SPARTAN program. The first generation, the Spartan Is, were volunteers who gained biological enhancements and trained to be the elite of the elite. Then, before the war began, many retired and settled down to have a family. Thus came the unofficial one point ones, the super children who were almost the perfect soldiers. Almost. I am one, as is Kelly.

Then came the real super-soldiers: the twos. They were taken at age 6, trained vigorously until they were 14, then all seventy five went through risky and expensive biological upgrades. Thirty-two survived, twelve were alive but so mutilated they couldn't fight, and the rest were killed in the process. These thirty Spartans were the only humans capable of wearing MJOLNIR combat armor – a green plate that in conjunction with their biological upgrades gave a Spartan II supreme reflexes and enough strength to allow them to lift a Scorpion Main Battle Tank. They were true super-soldiers.

It took much effort to gleam the information on the Spartan IIIs from the secretive Office of Naval Intelligence. They were a new take on the Spartan program – rather than make a few super-soldiers at the expense of many lives, the ONI took 300 kids in secret, trained them to a single elite fighting force, gave them semi-powered infiltration armor, and sent them on suicide missions. In three generations of S-IIIs, only five survived.

The rest of the war is well known, from the losing position the UNSC was in to the events at the Halos. Erpa 'Lytamee was an amazing leader, and it would be a pity if his story was left untold. Attached to this report is Ceru 'Thilett's account of 'Lytamee's life. Let it go down the generations.

--David Firestone

/End File


	2. Chapter 1: Leave

**Book 1: To Defy the Establishment...**

**Chapter one – Leave**

The Spirit Dropship flew down towards the surface of Sangheilios. Onboard was a group of Konuelo Sangheili, along with Korajyra, an honorary Konuelo who was not actually Sangheili. He was of a species known as a Yanme'e, an insectlike species that had been inducted into the Covenant as scouts and servants. Korajyra had been a lucky soldier to have been saved by Erpa 'Lytamee, thus inspiring the sangheili to allow the Covenant military to integrate the Yanme'e into the infiltrator's team.

The dropship was heading down towards the surface for a break from the fighting while their Konuelo ship was refit. They had had few encounters with humanity recently, as they still as of yet didn't know where the next planet was. 'Lytamee, 'Meramee, Korajyra, and the other Konuelos would be waiting on Dorenth while the Hierarchs scoured the Sacred Scripture and determined the next location of a Forerunner artifact or a Human colony. Many of them were going to visit their families, but 'Lytamee had no such obligation. His mother had moved away, and his father had been killed in combat.

"So, what're you going to do tomorrow when we have found lodging?" 'Meramee asked his friend.

"Me? Well, I didn't really think about that." 'Lytamee replied.

"Why don't we go see Kyassk? We haven't been there is a long time!" 'Meramee offered.

"Great idea! Korajyra, you coming?" 'Lytamee replied enthusiastically.

"Sure." The yanme'e replied.

The Spirit swooped through the atmosphere towards the capital city of the sangheili homeworld. It lowered to a landing pad not too far off from the location where the _Truth and Reconciliation_'s grav lift was setting down. 'Lytamee looked back at the lowering grav lift. He knew that the other soldiers would be coming down as well, and they would be going into the city.

"How about we pick up a few other Sangheili and have them come along? We really should meet some of the other soldiers so we know who's on the ship with us." 'Lytamee pointed out.

"Okay." 'Meramee agreed. Outnumbered, Korajyra silently complied.

The three of them reentered the spirit and asked the pilot to take them to take them to the bottom of the grav lift. He reluctantly agreed and they flew to where everyone else was touching down.

'Lytamee spotted a group of five Sangheili in black armor heading into the city.

"Touchdown there. Let's go with them." He ordered the pilot.

The Spirit touched down, and 'Meramee and Korajyra leapt out. 'Lytamee paid the pilot and dismounted with them.

"Hello brothers. I see you too were on the _Truth and Reconciliation_." 'Lytamee approached the Sangheili. "Are you also off to Kyassk for leave?"

The 'lead' Sangheili looked at 'Lytamee and said, "Yes brother, we came off the ship to get some food and then return to it."

"Atwa speaks the truth, we were getting food." Another Sangheili said.

"Sorry, forgot to introduce myself, Atwa 'Nugaree, at your service." Atwa said.

'Lytamee inclined his head in respect to the sungheisa, despite the fact that he outranked him. "I am Erpa 'Lytamee Konuelo. This is Huro 'Meramee Konuelo and Korajyra Konuelo." 'Lytamee introduced them all. "Let's go together. I would like to meet some of the other Sangheili on the ship."

"You need not honor me so. Only such respect is due to those who deserve it." Atwa replied.

"Agreed. Let us go now for food, before the Kig-Yar take our shares." A Sangheili spoke up.

"Good idea." 'Lytamee turned with the rest of the now-large group to go get some food.

"I see you carry a Sacred Blade, an energy sword. You are a lucky one, the humans probably run like unggoy when they see it." Atwa replied. The group of Sungheisa and Konuelo went into the busy city.

The group of soldiers, all still in their armor, were surprised at the sheer number of non-Sangheili people in the city. They understood that it was because they were members of this most holy Covenant, but they still found it odd that the Sangheili homeworld had so many other species living on it.

They entered a restaurant, ready to eat a delicious meal of fresh food they had not been able to eat in a long time.

Atwa led the group to a table. As they sat down a holopad appeared asking some questions, like what they wanted to eat or drink.

Each Sangheili picked what foods they wanted. They all had similar interests – pick whichever would be tastiest and most savory, for they probably wouldn't be able to eat fresh food again for a while. As their food arrived, 'Lytamee decided to start up conversation.

"So I understand you're all Sungheisa." 'Lytamee said. "Any of you have interesting stories of how you got your rank?"

"I," Atwa spoke, "had earned it through valor and fearlessness against a human-fortified position when I was a Vuthi. I earned it by charging the humans and drawing their fire. Meanwhile the actual Sungheisa team moved in and delivered a crushing blow to the human forces."

"My rank was earned by a blessing by the Hierarchs for my heritage, my family had been dishonored once, which prevented me from becoming a Sangtai, but the Hierarchs were willing to at least give me Sungheisa," another Sangheili spoke.

"How I got mine was when I was wounded, I still managed to command a team of Sungheisa Unggoy when their leader was killed." The second Sangheili said.

"I was not so fancy and over time only proved my courage." The oldest one replied.

"And I earned it by saving my commander from a human tank, which I boarded and proceeded to use against the humans." The fourth and final Sangheili said.

"So, how did you earn Konuelo?" Atwa asked.

'Lytamee mused. "How did I _earn_ Konuelo? In short, I guess I didn't really _earn_ the rank of Konuelo. I was recruited for the First Stage Konuelo, as was 'Meramee. We were all picked. We were thrust through vigorous training and we've been a very successful infiltrator team."

'Lytamee turned to look at Korajyra. "And as for Korajyra, well, he has an interesting story. I found him dying on one of the Jericho Moons, when we were called in to break through a surprisingly strong human defense. I pulled him out of the danger zone and brought him back to a medic, while leaving my team to finish the mission. It was a huge risk because none of us have personal energy shields."

The Sungheisa looked slightly baffled.

"What, are you amazed they let Korajyra become a Konuelo?" 'Lytamee asked.

"No." one of the other sangheili replied. "None of us knew the Konuelo were picked."

"Oh. Well, honestly, neither did we. I don't know how they picked who they did, but we feel incredibly lucky for being allowed to be infiltrators." 'Lytamee said.

The food was good, as Atwa and his squad ate. Atwa stopped eating and asked, "What of the humans? Do they know of this? If they do it would be a disaster..."

"What, you mean about us?" 'Lytamee asked, finishing his food. "Oh, I think they know of us. We've wreaked enough havoc among them. But we surely aren't known by more than those who have seen us or those people's friends."

"Good, I wanted to ensure that you were still unknown to the humans for the most part. The last thing I want is to be on a boarding party and have them expecting Konuelo, and then having to abandon a stealth mission." Atwa replied.

'Lytamee leaned back. "So tell me, if I am not too bold, anything interesting in your personal life? I feel we're running out of conversation topics."

"My life? Well I did manage to get one of those 'M6D's from the humans. This weapon is interesting, though crude it seems really effective against them. I enjoy using its so called 'scope' to make accurate shots. Take a look if you want." Atwa replied while setting the human pistol on the table.

"A human pistol?" 'Lytamee picked up the weapon, investigating it. "Interesting." He put his eye to the scope and zoomed in. It was mildly amusing, seeing the Sungheisa's face jump in and out. "Very cool."

"As for my actual life, I live as a Spec-Ops Commando, slaughtering the foolish apes when ever I get a chance in battle." Atwa continued.

"Indeed, the humans, are the only main thing in life, their destruction is required no matter what." Another Sungheisa spoke.

"Oh come, why base your life solely around annihilating the humans? Check out other options!" 'Lytamee smiled. "At least you should get yourself a girl. If you only live to take out the human species, then what will you do when the god's will is fulfilled?"

"I never said I did not have my sites on a female. But I must serve my duties first." Atwa replied with a slight laugh.

"We've eaten." 'Lytamee, 'Meramee, and Korajyra rose. "Is there somewhere in the city you would like to go? I suppose if you really wish we could return to the ship and play a game of Jaheijagaj." 'Lytamee pulled out a few coins to pay for his meal and placed them on the table.

"Well, since the ship is leaving soon, we should return to it." Atwa said.

"Indeed, let us get ready to move out." One of Atwa's Sangheili replied. The group of Covenant paid, then with proper manners they left the restaurant and the company of the Konuelo.

The Konuelo continued to explore the city, finally able to be tourists in their home city. They hadn't been here for a long time, and the new buildings were interesting. They went through the city as civilians, not in their armor, but 'Meramee kept an open channel so they could head back to the ship when the time would come...

After a few restful and exciting days in the city, the Konuelo were alerted to a new mission. "_We're going to High Charity. Re-board the ship. We leave in one hundred units._"

The sangheili on the planet boarded the ship and blasted off to High Charity.


	3. Chapter 2: The Battle of Troy

**Chapter Two – The Battle of Troy**

A message pinged off of Harmony's input buffer. She snatched it before the systems on the _Bandwidth_ could detect it. The coded source was easily recognizable to those who knew Major Standish well. Harmony decrypted Standish's message and took in its contents. She copied the important data to her memory and deleted the message, pertaining to ONI protocol. Internally, Harmony smiled at what the message stated.

"_Calling Commander Lukson. This is Harmony. Please report to the bridge. I have information for our next mission._"

Commander Matthew Lukson strode into the bridge a few minutes later, and he approached the AI on her holo-pedestal. His white uniform was not quite as trim as usual, Harmony thought to herself. Neither was his attitude. His eyes betrayed what his voice did not; that he didn't want to be here. He was tired.

"What is it Harmony? More from ONI Section 3?"

"As I am sure you know, I am not disclosed to give you my source, but it is from the ONI." Harmony shimmered with excitement. "A ship was encountered just outside the Hellspont system, and just before it went down, it managed to send out a distress call. However, although a few defense ships were moved around it, the Covenant never attacked. We are to go to the coordinates of the _Quebecois_'s last known position and gather intelligence on whatever Covenant may be there." Harmony explained. She pulled up a small map of the systems around Hellspont. "Here they were. We are to go there and gather intelligence on what happened to the ship."

"The Hellspont system?!" Lukson cried. "But that's just near Troy!"

"I know. They haven't seemed to show any signs of knowing that our planet is there, but that is why we are going. To keep them from finding out." Harmony replied.

"Alright. How long until we ship out?" Lukson asked.

"You have twelve hours. All your crew is now no longer on leave. I will see you then." Harmony vanished into her own subroutines, getting ready to record Covenant transmissions. The last bit of information she hadn't told Lukson was that the Covenant ship had just been spotted, and was thought to be a scout. They were to monitor it so Harmony could gleam information and then follow up with an attack if necessary.

Twelve hours later, the _Bandwidth_ vanished into the alternate dimension that was known as Slipspace.

A shadow shimmered through the Slipspace portal as it slipped unnoticed into space just outside the Hellspont system, home to a human colony - Troy.

The crew of the _Bandwidth_ watched as suddenly a red blip appeared on their radar. It shimmered, almost disappearing before Harmony recalibrated the system to see the cloaked Covenant scout. The AI took control of the comm station and the lieutenant manning it silently conceded. As Harmony reset the system to allow her to pick up the Covenant transmission she knew would be there, the AI took in the facing and armament of the Covenant craft. It seemed to be facing Troy, although it was always hard to tell with those alien ships. It wasn't very strongly armed but Harmony didn't doubt that it could turn them to molten slag in a minute.

The transmission suddenly came into Harmony's transmitters. She watched as the alien symbols scrolled across the screen. Something about these characters seemed familiar...

Harmony pulled up her records of the other Covenant transmissions she had intercepted but failed to decode. Here was the transmission she had picked up from a Covenant battle group just before they glassed Jericho VII. Here was the transmission from the Covenant scout just as he found Paris –

Harmony stopped. The symbols were arranged similarly to the transmission she was picking up now. She cross-referenced them and began a decoding scheme. Different symbols and meanings flashed through her matrix. Suddenly, she stopped. She had found a match. Harmony had actually decoded the Covenant transmission.

She snapped out of her self-congratulations and booted up the translating software. As the transmission translated, she opened up and set decryption schemes for her report to Major Standish.

_"...The gods have blessed us. The system at coordinates 010-846-078 is a human-inhabited planet. It is poorly guarded - recommended glassing team three destroyers. I will remain at the system to monitor human activity..."_

The rest of the message broke down into religious gabber that Harmony paid little attention to. _They've found Troy! And they're going to attack it!_ Was the first thought into Harmony's mind.

She began organizing a message to Major Standish:

**Decryption key:**  
**ONI Priority - High  
To:** Sierra 10827  
**From:** Hotel 11235  
**EYES-ONLY**  
Press ENTER to continue...

--------------  
Standish, I have good news.

I have cracked the Covenant code. After translating their message, I have discovered the following:

They know of Troy, and they intend to attack it soon. The scout will remain and keep an eye out for updates. If we strengthen Troy's defenses, they will surely see and bring more destroyers. If we are to save the population of Troy, we must evacuate it quietly. But this is just my recommendation.

Justice reigns.  
-----------------

Press ENTER to continue...

"_Go ahead and begin evacuating people from the planet. I'll get another ship to coordinates 364-846-067 for you to shuttle the evacuees to. The Covenant probably won't wait long for the destroyers to begin glassing it._" Sandish paused, something humans did that continually bugged Harmony. "_Good luck Harmony. I think someone's onto me back here. Avi might have someone to keep me in line._" Harmony could hear the Major smiling. "_We'll see how long he lasts. Standish out._"

Harmony appeared on the holo-pedastal. "Commander Lukson, we've been granted authorization to begin evacuating the civilians from Troy." She said. As always, she had a tone in her voice that hinted that what she was saying wasn't so much a suggestion as an order.

"Alright." He begrudgingly opened a comm channel through the ship. "All personnel, awaken the marines and ODSTs. Prepare them to head down to the planet and shuttle evacuees onto dropships." Then to the bridge crew he continued, "I want us brought around to the dark side of the planet. No need for us to cause a fuss." The _Bandwidth_ inched around the planet as Harmony continued to monitor the Covenant scout.

"Where am I?" asked Petty Officer Thomas Starle; his voice croaky from the weeks of sleeping.

The two technicians looked terrified. "Troy." replied the shorter of the two. "The Covenant will be here any minute. We have orders to evacuate as many people as we can."

The man had neglected to call him sir, but Tom had more pressing matters to see to. Without another word he left the room and made his way to the armory. Once there he pried open his weapons crate and selected his shotgun, assault rifle and two pistols. He then retrieved some tape from a nearby shelf and began to attach extra ammunition to his armor before exiting and walking briskly towards the bridge.

Once there he made his way over to Harmony's holo-pedestal.

Commander Lukeson saw the Spartan enter the bridge and muttered frightenedly to Harmony, "I didn't know we had a SPARTAN on board!"

"Oh. I must have forgot." She replied coolly. In all seriousness, she _had_ forgot, but that didn't matter anymore. Tom Starle approached her pedestal.

"What's going on?" he asked in his cool Spartan tone.

"We are in orbit around Troy as you can see. The Covenant are to show up any day now to glass the planet. We could just bring a fleet to evacuate the entire planet, but then the Covenant scout here -" Harmony highlighted the digital representation of the Covenant scout on the display board, "would be alerted and call for immediate reinforcements."

A call rang out through the bridge. "_The first wave of dropships is away. Awaiting their return with evacuees._"

"As you can see, quietly evacuating the population of Troy is our best option." The AI finished.

"What can I do?" Tom asked calmly. "I'm useless up here."

Jessie Lett woke with a start. Someone had just knocked on her door. Suddenly there was a crash.

_Someone's breaking into my house!_ She thought instantly. She slipped out of bed and slipped on some clothes. Then she grabbed a rock she kept on her bedside table for decoration and snuck outside her room. Coming up the stairs were a group of dark strangers, at least one of them armed. One must have seen her, for they suddenly stopped.

"We're from the UNSC ma'am. We're going to have to help you off this planet." One said.

"What the hell do you want?" she spat nervously. She didn't trust these weirdoes, whether or not they were marines. As she eyed them she noticed the downstairs lights were all on. No burglars would turn on every light they found.

"We're here to get you off Troy and onto our ship. Please come with us." The man with the gun insisted.

Jessie thought for a moment, then relaxed her posture, if tightening up her insides. "Give me a few minutes."

"We don't have a few minutes. Please come." The man with the gun stepped forward and grabbed her arm.

"Get the hell off me!" Jessie jerked back. "I'll come. Just let me get my chatter!"

The man followed her into her room and watched her grab her small laptop computer and her chatter. She then turned and followed him out. "The government better get me enough to compensate for all this stuff I'm leaving behind." She said to him.

"That may or may not happen." The marine replied. "But at least you're saving your own life."

Jessie was intrigued. "Are the Covenant coming? Why didn't they evacuate all the other planets?"

"I'm not allowed to say. Watch your step." The marine helped her into a car and they sped off towards the dropship.

"We've got contacts!" one of the lieutenants called. Harmony engaged the sensors, only to discover the three destroyers they were expecting.

"_The first wave of evacuees are safe! Sending out wave two._" Came the call over the intercom.

"Contacts engaging!" Called the lieutenant at the weapons console. Harmony watched as Seraph fighters streamed from the ships on a crash course for the pelicans.

"Shit!" Harmony swore under her breath. "Lieutenant, bring this ship about. I want to engage those seraphs."

"What?" He yelled, before regaining his composure and turning the ship.

"Longswords engage the enemy." Harmony ordered.

"Ma'am!" Lukson exclaimed. "There's no way we can outgun four Covenant ships!"

"Outgunning them is not what I had in mind. We need to take out that stealth ship. That will give our marines enough time to evacuate the second wave of civilians. Then we will have to flee."

"And how do we take out the stealth ship?" Demanded Comander Lukson. "I know all of our araments. We have nothing that could possibly do enough damage to that thing! It's got anti-missile defenses for crying out loud!"

"You're forgetting one crucial weapon that could be easily overlooked." Harmony turned to Tom. "Ready to do some infiltration?"

"Thought you'd never ask." Tom grinned, turning and sprinting towards the hangar bay nearest the planet. His muscles were tense from the weeks he'd spent sleeping, but they still did the job. He pumped his shotgun as he ran, and after a minute or so he arrived in the bay.

Tom stared through the viewscreen as a Seraph fighter blew up and longsword. People were going to die. He had to do something; but what? He continued to watch. Thinking. Planning his next move.

The battle outside intensified.

He couldn't take a longsword. It would be too big and too obvious. He'd be shot down in seconds. No; a ship was out of the question.

He'd have to jump.

"Harmony. Do you have any idea where the control center would be located the ship?" he asked impatiently.

Harmony watched the Spartan with a section of her processing power, monitoring the rest of the battle as well. The Covenant destroyers were making their way around the planet slowly; they had little time.

_"I don't know exactly, but from the few bits of research we've been able to do it seems to be near the center rather than at the head. There's a tac-nuke on board, I'm transferring it to you now."_ She pinged a pair of engineers and ordered them to transport it to Tom's hangar bay. _"Just get it inside the ship and you should be fine. I'll order Hotel Squadron to weaken its shields and get them open for you."_

"What are you thinking?" the Commander asked, watching Harmony incredulously. "There's no way a few Longswords can down a Covenant stealth ship's shields."

"No. But we will be the bait. The Covenant ship's shields go down when they fire." Harmony explained. "If worst comes to worst we can always ram them. We are much bigger, after all."

"And get right in the way of the plasma torpedoes of the other destroyers!" Lukson exclaimed.

"We're going to be counting on Tom. Let's just hope he can get into the ship." Harmony said finally.

"We've got contacts!" Jack Muller cried. He swerved around the Seraph's plasma, sending a volley of rockets back at the Covenant ship that had fired it. The explosives bounced off the seraph's shields, and Jack cursed his opponent's defenses.

"Charlie, Jan, Paul, Caroline, I'm pinned! A little covering fire would be nice." He swerved out of the way. Two fellow longswords dove in, hammering rockets on the surprised seraphs until Jack could spin and blast the Covenant fighters into oblivion.

"Nice work Hotel Squadron. Now we need to get to that ship." Jack boosted forward, watching on his radar as the other four ships of Hotel Squad formed up behind him. Suddenly another friendly appeared, but it was smaller than a dropship.

"Hey check that out!" Caroline Macmillan said over the comm. "It's the Spartan!"

"Shit!" Jack swore. "Find a target on the shields and open fire. Aim for where he's going to hit."

The five longswords opened fire on the Covenant ship's shields, barely fazing the cloaked ship. Suddenly Jan cried and Jack saw her blip fade from the radar. There was a few explosions and another voice came over the comm.

"Come in Hotel One."

"This is Hotel One, go ahead." Jack replied, reloading the missile cannons on his longsword.

"I'm sorry about Hotel Four. You were attacked by seraphs, and I just barely got there in time to cover you. I'll stay behind you with the remains of Juliet Squadron while you let the Spartan in. Juliet One out."

"Hotel Squad, keep an eye on the Spartan. When he is just about to hit the ship, let me know. I'm going to get this ships's attention." Jack double-checked the data Harmony had given him. He would have to somehow get the Covenant ship to fire at him at just the right time. Jack broke off from the core of the group, Juliet Squad covering his tail. Rockets detonated along the length of the ship's shields, and more and more seraphs turned on him to shoot him down. But they were shortly destroyed by Juliet Squad and the few longswords who could detach themselves from skirmishes.

Finally Jack ran out of rockets. "Damn..." He muttered. Then, with a moment's hesitation, he accelerated the longsword towards a plasma cannon on the side of the ship. The Covenant ship spotted him, and he made it look like he was arming a new set of rockets.

They took the bait.

The plasma cannon began charging. He heard something come over the comm, but the buzz of static from the charging cannon overwhelmed his communications. "I loved you Amelia."

Caroline watched with amazement as Jack dove straight at the charging plasma torpedo. He slammed into the still-online shields, bouncing off. The Spartan was just about to hit the shield...

"Hotel Squadron!" she cried into the comm. "Open fire on the weak spot! He won't make it!" The three remaining longswords unloaded the rest of their rockets, and the Spartan slammed into the shield. He saw the rockets coming and propelled himself out of the way. The rockets hit - and passed through the shield. Simultaneously, a bright blue blast erupted from Jack's position, engulfing him and the plasma turret adjacent to him in the torpedo's size.

A hole opened in the side of the Covenant vessel. The Spartan crawled along the side of the ship, still outside the shields. Caroline noticed a shimmer, however weak, reappear around the hole. "NO!" she screamed. She mashed down on the triggers, and rockets streamed into the shield surrounding the hole.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Paul exclaimed. "That's going to hit the Spartan!"

The explosions hammered on the shield, and Tom drifted towards the hole, no longer able to change his course. Suddenly the shields gave way, and he 'fell' into the ship. The rockets detonated around him, downing his shields and killing any Covenant who had come to fix the hole. The rockets stopped coming, and the shields flickered back to life around the entire ship.

"Mission accomplished." Caroline slumped back into her seat, wiping her sweaty palms on her shirt.

Moments later the ship detonated from within.

Harmony watched with satisfaction as the Covenant stealth ship detonated. The explosion was kept confined by the stealth ship's shields, something she was grateful for. The other Covenant ships reacted as she imagined, moving towards them even faster and more enraged.

"What's the status of the second wave?" she asked one of the lieutenants.

"They're just leaving the planet." He replied.

"And the Spartan?"

"I... don't see him ma'am. Hang on, let me double-check." He re-ran the software, hoping to find Tom the second time...

_This is Spartan 064. Do not shoot. I repeat. Do not shoot._

"Sir! Receiving a transmission."

"Who is it?" Lukson asked, trying to regain command over his ship.

"It's... the Spartan!"

"Where's it originating from?" Harmony interjected, appearing on the holo-pedastal.

"That seraph!" the lieutenant said, surprised.

"Recall the longswords. The dropships are nearing the ship." Lukson ordered.

"Yes sir." Comunications replied. "All Longsword fighters, return to the _Bandwidth_. We are leaving in three minutes."

Harmony watched painfully as the longswords, seraph, and pelicans flew into the hangar bays. One by one dropships and retreating longswords fell to plasma blasts. Finally the _Bandwidth_ closed its doors and prepared for the jump to Slipspace.

"Have all civilians go into cryosleep for the Slipspace transition. If there's not enough pods, freeze as many as we can." Harmony ordered.

"I can tell them to get in, but if they won't undress and get in the pods I can't make them." The communications lieutenant explained.

"MAKE THEM." Harmony ordered sternly.

"No." Lukson stood up and stared Harmony down. "You don't know what it takes to run a ship. _I_ will be giving orders from now on."

"I know perfectly well how to run a ship. And unlike you, Commander, I have not lost a ship in combat and evacuated myself and myself _alone_ to save my own skin." Harmony replied levelly.

"But all you know is orders, and following them to the letter. Let me introduce you to a topic you should have known about all along: FREE WILL. If these civilians don't want to get into those pods to be frozen, then we can't make them." Lukson was getting passionate.

"I know all about free will. It is the ability humans have to choose between right and wrong. We are putting them into cryosleep for their benefit." Harmony stayed calm in the face of anger and frustration.

"They are civilians. They aren't accustomed to following orders. And I can bet most of them are not comfortable with stripping in public."

"They are not in public. They are on a Navy ship."

The communications officer was speaking into the PA, but neither of the ship's commanders noticed.

"But it will seem public to them. They are going to be undressing in front of strangers. I can guarantee that they won't like that." Lukson argued.

The three Covenant destroyers opened fire, unleashing a score of plasma torpedoes at the UNSC ship.

"They must be made understand that they need to get in the cryopods. It is the only way."

The four lieutenants around Lukson and Harmony made eye contact with each other and nodded. The woman at navigations turned back to her station and tapped in coordinates.

"Enough!" Lukson finally exclaimed. "I'll do what I can." He turned to the viewscreen and saw the plasma torpedoes just about to impact. "HOLY SHIT!"

_Click_

The plasma torpedoes slammed against the Slipspace bubble that suddenly appeared around the _Bandwidth_. The ship vanished from the system, leaving the baffled Covenant destroyers to finish off the human planet of Troy.

"This is Lieutenant Demeter. We are entering Slipspace in a few moments. Any civilians who would enter cryosleep for the transition would be best off. It eliminates the physiological effects of entering Slipspace. I regret to say that we do not allow anyone to enter cryosleep clothed, as it induced cryoburns that can be very painful. If you wish to enter cryosleep, please find the nearest crew member and they will assist you."

Jessie heard the announcement along with many other civilians crowding around her. Most of the reactions were shock. They were expected to strip in front of strangers? Jessie was a stage actress, so she was willing to do whatever was necessary to do things right. She and a few other civilians bravely stepped forwards to enter cryosleep. The woman who she went to looked kind enough, if lacking sleep and stressed beyond her limit.

"Please, step this way." She led the twenty volunteers through a few halls until they came to a large room with a control room on a floor above and cryotubes lining the walls. "If you will remove al your clothes, jewelry, bandages, and get into the pod, then I can start the process."

A woman with Jessie hesitated for a split second before undressing with the rest. Jessie noticed as they were getting ready that their volunteering had convinced many others that it wasn't too bad. More civilians continued flowing in. Jessie finally lay down in the strange tube and let the woman shut it over her after giving her a small packet that looked like it contained energy gel.

"Please swallow that gel I gave you. It won't taste very good, but it will keep you nourished while you are asleep." The woman explained.

Jessie pulled open the pouch and sucked out the gel. Like the woman said, it tasted horrible.

"Now please relax..."

Jessie closed her eyes and relaxed. Suddenly she felt everything getting incredibly cold. Someone said something over the PA, and she fell unconscious.


	4. Chapter 3: The Bandwidth

**Chapter Three – The **_**Bandwidth**_

A Slipspace bubble appeared outside Reach orbit. The single ship that limped out had used none of its few weapons, and its cloaking device had been damaged. It was packed with survivors, and more than a few had been sick because of the abrupt Slipspace jump.

"Status!" Lukson called out breathlessly.

"Engines failing, cloaking out." One Lieutenant replied.

"All weapons accounted for, all at 0 charge." Weapons replied.

"Gaining access to Reach Highcomm." Communications explained.

"So, Harmony, mind explaining what the HELL just happened back there?" Lukson turned on the AI.

"I'm just as clueless as you are, Commander. One moment we were just about to be taken out by plasma and the next we were in Slipspace." Harmony explained, a little bit of her suave gone.

"Then what happened?" He turned to his bridge crew. They all sat with their chairs turned around, watching the Commander. "Did you do something?" he demanded hotly.

"Yes." Lieutenant Junior Grade Cody Orien stood up, facing the Commander calmly. "While you two bickered, we spotted the incoming plasma torpedoes, got the civilians who would listen to get into cryosleep, then jumped off to a random set of coordinates as per Cole Protocol. While you were still getting a hold of yourself we came home."

"So you acted without direct orders?" Lukson asked. "You know you're not allowed to do that."

"Would you rather be dead?" Lieutenant Margaret Trainer asked from Navigations. "We had no choice. Otherwise we'd be single-handedly responsible for the deaths of everyone from Troy. Not to mention that we too would all be dead."

"But -" Lukson began.

"This is Reach Highcomm. This is the _Bandwidth_?" came the transmission from the comm station.

Before Lukson could speak, Harmony broke in. "Yes. We have just returned from our mission. We were only successful in part."

There was a pause and the speaker asked a strange question, "Do the badgers fly at midnight?"

"Indeed. Sometimes they may even stalk the land, glassing their foes before they may evacuate all their civilians." Harmony replied. She then elaborated to the crew. "Everything related to this mission is classified to everyone except those who ask you that question."

"But then we can't tell people about the evacuation of Troy?" Lt. Trainer asked, surprised.

"As far as the UNSC is concerned, Troy wasn't evacuated. They were being transported because there was reported rebel activity near that area and the UNSC wanted to clear it out." Harmony explained, then she turned back to the person from Highcomm. "Tell Standish I will brief him on the mission when I get back to the base."

"I can do that." And with that the connection went dead.

"Ship the civilians to the surface. This ship will need a fix-up before it does anything like that again. Oh, and all five of you, you'll be wanted to speak with ONI at some point soon. Just letting you know." Harmony vanished.

"Dammit!" the technician swore loudly. He had been able to successfully get every civilian who had been in cryofreeze out and into dropships for transportation to the surface. That is, every civilian except one.

Jessie lay, still asleep in her malfunctioning cryotube, blissfully unaware of the chaos around her. The technician monitoring her vital signs wasn't worried, nothing had changed at all inside the tube. However, for some unknown reason the cryotube wouldn't open.

The technician slumped to the ground before the unforgiving technology. "I give!" he cried, "it's been four hours and I've made no progress! Someone else can try it."

He walked out.

Sigma Octanus... a colony world that had done well to prosper in such dark and dangerous times, serving boldly as one of the free civilian ports that the UNSC had not locked down. It was from here brave pilots would begin their random slip space jumps, before heading to their destinations; whether they were to other colonies for food and supplies, or to search the detritus of systems long glassed by the Covenant, or remains of great battles... survivors where hoped for, but rarely found, even in cryotubes or on moons.

The citizens of the world were varied and came from all over; retired captains of every creed and color, descendants of proud lines of first generation colonists, and refugees of hundreds of fallen worlds... But the planet was not something one would gawk over at arrival at the planet. Not like Reach, the UNSC military stronghold, or Earth, the homeworld of the humans. But it was here, Sigma Octanus VI, where the Covenant decided to attack next. With a flash forty-one Covenant ships appeared in-system, and among them was the _Truth and Reconciliation_, and on it, Erpa 'Lytamee and many Stage 1 Konuelo. The Konuelo were quick to board a Spirit dropship – they wanted to get in on the fun... immediately.

The message was sent to Harmony in mid-creation. Harmony stared at the reports.

_Sigma Octanus was under attack?!_

She contacted the crew, most of who hadn't had a chance to leave,

_To all crew aboard the _Bandwidth_, this is Harmony. I am aware that our commander has left to speak with ONI, but we still have our bridge crew. Sigma Octanus is under attack, and we are to report to that planet immediately. Return to your stations. I will collaborate with the bridge crew as to who will be in charge. Harmony out._

The _Bandwidth_, still damaged from its defense of Troy, jumped into the Sigma Octanus system from the Slipstream. It took in the horde of Covenant crafts and spotted a single UNSC ship just waiting to be annihilated. It appeared to be swarming with Spirit dropships.

"Alright bridge crew, listen up. I want us stationed near that ship, Commander Billing's ship. I want maximum power to the engines, and I want our MAC gun charging as fast as possible." Harmony began dishing out orders. The bridge crew, secretly glad to be rid of Commander Lukson, were at their tasks in moments.

"I can only route enough power to the engines to get us 86. I could get more, but we'd melt down awfully fast." LTJG Orien said.

"Then give us 86. I don't want us melting in mid-combat." Harmony replied,

"We can charge our MAC gun at a rate of 1 per four seconds." Adam Tulloc called out from Weapons.

"Do it. And Lt. Trainer, get us to that combat as fast as possible." Harmony ordered.

"I'm on it." Margaret replied.

A dropship flew for the surface. On it sat a set of figures, Sangheili, all but one Yanme'e. They awaited their chance to cleanse the planet of humanity, but only after taking the Holy Artifact that stayed on the surface.

"Heads!" A human ship appeared in view from nearby. It was damaged, and appeared to have just come from a battle. "Pilot, take us into that ship! I want to see about capturing it. It shouldn't be hard, just alert the fleet to not completely destroy it." 'Lytamee called.

"Yes sir!" The pilot called back.

"_To all Covenant forces nearby, we are attempting to capture the human ship that has entered the system. Do not strike killing blows. Over."_

The Spirit blasted towards the _Bandwidth_, streaking past its point-defense cannons, its size hiding it from detection. Meanwhile, the _Truth and Reconciliation_ targeted the _Bandwidth_ with its long-range plasma cannons. It took a second to charge them and as it did, it fired out hundreds of plasma bolts, all flying at the _Bandwidth_. Most of the bolts missed, but 1 impacted, just under the ship's bow.

"We've been hit!" Orien cried. Harmony scanned the ship. It had taken a heavy beating, and wouldn't last much longer.

"Alright. I'm taking extreme measures. I want a MAC round fired at the largest Covenant ship. Then I want us to retreat and get some atmosphere between us and them. Meanwhile I think I'll pull out our wild card again.

"Come in Petty Officer Tom Starle. Please report to the bridge immediately. I have a task for you. Harmony out."

Tom Starle stood before Harmony.

"I am going to be put in your head. From there we will together board Billing's ship and defend it from the boarders. I am leaving Lt. Trainer in charge of the _Bandwidth_. Are we in agreement?" Harmony asked, eyeing the SPARTAN.

"Yes ma'am!" He said.

"Excellent." Harmony vanished from the holopedastal. It took a moment for her to download herself to the data chip, and then it popped out. Tom inserted the card into his helmet, and felt the cool presence of an AI entering his mind.

_Everything functioning within full parameters?_ Harmony asked him. _Perfect. Now let's make out way to the hangar bay._

Tom left the bridge at a run, heading for the hangar where he could grab a Longsword.

"Alright, you all heard Harmony. What's the charge of the MAC, Tulloc?" Lt. Trainer asked.

"98... 99... Full charge." He replied.

"Open fire at the largest ship in the fleet. That one." Margaret pointed to a cruiser larger than the rest.

"Yes ma'am. Harmony's sub-AI is handling the direct targeting… got it!" The MAC round blasted from the _Bandwidth_, slamming into the side of the _Truth and Reconciliation_ and downing its shields. The round had hit a weak point however, and it ripped through a pair of decks along the top as well.

The _Truth and Reconciliation_ retaliated by firing it's main plasma cannon and ripping the MAC gun clean off the human ship. The human ship was then fired on by two other Covenant ships, blowing the engines clean off of it.

The spirit hovered inside the human ship's hangar bay. The Covenant dropship had been able to sneak past all the human's defenses and now was dropping off the camouflaged Sangheili. Korajyra leapt out last, hiding behind a human Longsword so his brothers could make sure no humans were there. The Yanme'e couldn't waste his invisibility, for it would not last.

"All clear." 'Lytamee called through the link. "Korajyra, activate your camouflage."

The Yanme'e obliged, and the squad of Konuelo troops snuck towards the entrance to the hangar. But to their utmost surprise, the door opened before they could press the pad to open it. And to their horror a human stood on the other side that they didn't want to see – a Demon.

The _Bandwidth_ stumbled under the blow. It fell back, and its bridge crew worked frantically to fix the ship.

"MAC offline!" Tulloc cried.

"Engines heating at a rate of – holy crap! They're gone!" Orien stared in shock.

"Oh god…" Trainer mumbled. The other bridge crew looked at her. "There's a Covenant dropship just outside our point-defense system's range. And it's flying away." She turned to face the rest of them. "It was a pleasure knowing you all. You're great people, and I'm sorry it had to end this way."

_The Covenant's here!_ Harmony hissed. She had spotted the dots on the motion tracker just before the camouflaged Sangheili had stopped moving.

Tom leapt to the side. His shotgun was out in a flash, but as he eyed his motion tracker, nothing appeared. Then, after a moment of waiting, he saw a red dot come through the door.

"DIE BITCH!" He yelled, opening fire with his shotgun. Nothing happened. There was no Covenant there. _What the hell?_ he thought. The red blip was still approaching slowly, but it should have been blown to bits. He looked around. Still seeing nothing, he began backing away. Suddenly needles flew at him from above. Surprised, the SPARTAN dove to the side. A few of the purple projectiles hit him, but the damage to his shields was minimal. However, when he regained his senses, he found himself facing a group of red dots before him. Then they vanished.

"Aw crap. Just fight fair for once." The SPARTAN didn't let down his guard, but he did back up. From in front of him plasma bolts flew at him, as if from a wall of cloaked sangheili. He turned to run, seeing a sangheili shimmer into being on the ceiling as its cloaking ran out of power. He dashed for the next corner, but the plasma downed his shields before he could make it. The SPARTAN dove, managing to grasp the corner and dodge most of the plasma at the same time. He leapt up, propelling himself by pulling off the wall, and he dashed into safety around the corner. Then he heard a hiss, and touched his back.

"Oh no." The plasma grenade exploded, vaporizing his chest and killing him instantly.

'Lytamee strode around the corner, the rest of his squad and Korajyra behind him. The Sangheili picked up the Spartan's remains and dragged them to the hangar, where he placed them in a human jet.

"The Demon plagues us no more." He muttered, then joined the rest of his squad in the hallway. "Alright. Korajyra, you and I will move through the ship towards the bridge. I want you four to go secure engineering, and I want you five to loop around and begin taking out the marine barracks. We don't want prisoners, we just want technology. The rest of you, stay here and don't let any humans escape."

The Sangheili nodded and began to move towards their objectives. "Korajyra, I will go ahead of you. If I see a human, I will signal you to activate your camouflage. From here on out, we will not use our comm channels."

Korajyra nodded, and the two Konuelo snuck through the _Bandwidth_ towards the bridge.

"Why are we not dead yet?" Tulloc wondered. He stared at the viewscreen, watching as human and Covenant tore each other apart, completely ignoring the gutted and hamstrung _Bandwidth_. "It's like they were told not to attack us."

"They know we're not a threat." Katherine Gillespie muttered from next to him. They both knew that Cody Orion and Margaret Trainer had loved each other, and they were spending their last minute in space expressing it. "They're going to finish off the planet, then take us in."

There was a hiss from behind them, and the two Lieutenants spun around. Cody and Margaret lay on the ground, cleanly beheaded, and over them stood nothing. But this nothing held an active plasma sword.

"Oh shit!" Adam yelled. He reached for his pistol, but was stopped as something completely alien wrapped its arms around him. Just as he was trying to figure out what was going on, pain lanced up his body. He looked down to see nothing but a score of bloody holes in his abdomen. With a final exhalation he collapsed, and Korajyra pulled out the blood-covered needler.

'Lytamee dodged to the side as Margaret grabbed Adam's pistol and opened fire on the two Konuelo. However, she couldn't see either, and was only going off of the glowing plasma sword and the bloody needler. 'Lytamee reached Margaret, who couldn't back up because she was cornered, and stuck her through. The last of the bridge crew died.

Korajyra reappeared, and 'Lytamee called through the comm, "Status?"

"_We've secured engineering. No damage to the heathen ship."_

"_We're currently finishing off the barracks. It's slightly more difficult than we thought, and we've lost 'Terualanasee, 'Escarbendee, and 'Dorensee. Give us some time and we'll finish them off."_

"_No one has tried to escape the ship."_

"Excellent. The ship is ours." 'Lytamee smiled. "Now, to report."

"_Truth and Reconciliation, this is Erpa 'Lytamee Konuelo. We have secured the damaged ship and are preparing to bring it back for inspection."_

Unbeknownst to 'Lytamee or Korajyra, the copy of Harmony purged the navigational files and self-destructed, erasing all knowledge of the rest of the human-inhabited worlds. This capture would gleam them nothing in the way of navigational data.

_"We've finished off the human defenses."_

"This ship is ours, gentlemen." 'Lytamee said through the shipwide comm. A ragged cheer went up as the Sangheili converged on the bridge. All the Konuelo had deactivated their cloaking, as there was no reason to keep it on.

'Lytamee alerted the _Great Prophet_ to have them get picked up and towed back to High Charity, where scientist teams could draw out whatever information they needed to down the humans. The Covenant ship moved close to the _Bandwidth_, opening up a tow cable and snagging the human ship.

After pulling the _Bandwidth_ into the ship, the _Great Prophet_ opened a portal into Slipspace and left the system, bound for High Charity.


	5. Chapter 4: Jessamyn Lett

**Chapter Four – Jessamyn Lett**

The bulk of the _Great Prophet_ slipped out of the Slipstream near High Charity. The human ship attached drove the Covenant into fear, but Ship Master Zula 'Bobonsoree quickly assured the Hierarchs that they had in fact captured the human frigate and not the other way around. The High Prophets instantly asked to see the Sangheili who had conceived the idea. Then they would set to work deconstructing everything human they could.

'Lytamee was accompanied by Korajyra alone as they flew for High Charity to meet with the Heirarchs.

'Meramee strode through the wreck of the _Bandwidth_, 'Nebalee and 'Bamasanee accompanying him. They were mapping the ship, and there was only one hall left. They strode into it, only to find that there was a room below. It had a bunch of tube-looking objects with clear glass covers. Only one was occupied, and it contained a nude human female.

"What is this?" 'Nebalee asked, approaching something located halfway down the hall. It almost looked like a control panel.

"I don't know." 'Meramee replied. The three Sangheili gathered around the control pad, but they couldn't read the human script written on it. 'Nebalee turned around and examined the now-finished map of the ship, with labels approximating what each chamber was.

"So, what would you say this room was?" he asked, sitting down on the control pad. A beep emanated and 'Nebalee jumped. The control pad flashed, and numbers, letters, and symbols began appearing. Down in the chamber below, the woman's cryotube began to fill with a gas.

"'Nebalee, what did you do?" 'Meramee asked.

"I... don't know." 'Nebalee replied. The gas cleared, and the human woman stirred. Nervously, 'Nebalee asked, "Sir, should we let her out? She may not be able to breathe in there..."

"We go and check her out." 'Meramee said. "Come, we must be swift."

Jessie's eyes fluttered open. _Where am I?_ She thought. Then she felt the coldness on her skin and remembered. She turned her head and began sending heat and feeling to her body. She tasted something foul on her tongue, remembering the gel that was given to her to replenish the nutrients that she lost in cryosleep.

Suddenly Jessie realized that the cryochamber was completely empty. Even as she looked, she saw empty cryotubes lining the wall. They were all open.

_What the hell?_ Jessie thought. She reached out and touched the glass over the pod, and although she felt it, it didn't budge. She heard a clomping sound, as if multiple figures were entering the room. _Excellent. Now those bastard crew members can explain to me what the -"_

She stopped as the people entered her field of view. They were approaching her, but she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. They were elites!

"Won thgir dop taht fo tuo tel reh tnaw I. Dop reh nepo tuc, eelaben." One said. In response, another drew forth a blue rod. The energy sword sprang to life, and terror gripped Jessie. She stared, frozen, as the elite stepped up to her pod. Jessie shut her eyes, thinking her final thoughts to her loved ones.

She felt the blade cut through the pod.

After a moment, Jessie lay still, every muscle contracted in blind fear. She hadn't felt anything, was this what death was like?

"Reh ot deneppah tahw?" Obviously not.

Jessie opened her eyes and tried to relax. The elite stood over her, its cyan armor almost reflecting the color of its sword. Behind it stood two other elites in similar armor. Their faces were unreadable, but if she had to take a guess, they seemed confused. One spoke back to the elite standing over her,

"Stehporp eht wohs tsum ew gnihtemos si siht. Tuo reh pleh. Ekawa si ehs."

Then, to her complete surprise, the elite standing over her deactivated his sword and offered her his hand. Uncertain as to what she should do, Jessie complied. She grasped the strong alien hand and pulled herself up out of the cryotube.

'Meramee stared at the human woman in amazement. She was different than the humans he had seen in his life. But then again, they had all been wearing clothes. He suddenly felt a surge of pity for the woman. She had woken up unexpectedly and been faced with her worst nightmares, then had to wait as 'Nebalee cut her out of the cryotube.

With violent suddenness she doubled over, coughing violently as her windpipe was extended the way it was meant to. She collapsed over 'Nebalee's arm, coughing and hacking, until a stream of clear liquid flowed from her mouth. She stumbled back, breathing more or less normally now, her body turning red. 'Meramee knew enough about humans now to know she was embarrassed.

"You can't understand us, can you?" he asked her. She eyed him warily, taking in the bulk of the sangheili that stood a good meter above her. She shook her head slowly and said something in her tongue. It translated in 'Meramee's helmet translators as,

"I can't understand you. Please don't hurt me."

"'Nebalee, get back. Don't appear threatening." 'Meramee watched her as the sangheili backed up. Shock covered her face as she realized that not only could he understand her, but he was respecting her as well. She spoke again.

"You can understand me?"

'Meramee thought a moment, then brought his head up and down twice as he had seen humans do as an 'affirmative' gesture.

Jessie stared in shock as the elite nodded. He not only could understand her, but he knew basic human gestures! The words came flowing out in a nervous jumble. Her embarrassment at being let out by her enemies naked did little to comfort her.

"Where is everyone else? What is going on? Where are we?"

The elite spoke, but she couldn't understand him. Then he waved his hand for her to follow. The three elites turned and strode to the door. Uncertainly, Jessie followed. She wasn't sure what to think anymore. The Covenant were responsible for countless human deaths, but these three elites were respecting her and, as it seemed, trying to help. Their faces were hard to read, but they seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see them. They definitely could have killed her a long while ago, but either wanted to torture her for information, or they genuinely wanted to help. Hoping for the best, Jessie went with the second option and followed them.

Outside in the hall, she found a sight that caused her to rethink her opinion of these creatures. Down the hall was a pool of blood, and lying in it was a burned body of a technician. If her guesses were correct, then she was the only human left on this ship. Seeing her fear in the body, the lead elite turned to face her.

"Did you do this?" Jessie asked.

He nodded slowly, pointing to each other Covenant with him, as if to say that they had all done it.

"Are there any other humans left?" She asked, her fear of what the answer would be evident in her voice.

The elite shook his head.

Jessie walked down the hall to the dead body, kneeling over the dead woman's corpse. It was the technician who had helped her get into the cryotube, her torso burned badly. The look on her face was not one of fear but one of surprise - as if she had never known what had hit her. Jessie wondered what her final thoughts were.

Realizing the elites were still watching her, Jessie felt the embarrassment well up again. Why should she be embarrassed? She was naked, yes, but they were aliens, aliens bent on the destruction of the human race as well. But they had shown her kindness, something no previous human had probably ever experienced from these creatures. Now that she thought about it, they were probably not that much unlike humans as people, but had different customs and views about politics and religion. Especially religion.

"Sorry about this, but I'll need these more than you will." Jessie muttered to the dead woman, before taking off the woman's lower-body wear. She slipped them on, and was glad that they fit her pretty well. She would have taken the woman's shirt as well, but it had been melted brutally to her skin. Now feeling slightly more comfortable, Jessie turned back to the elites, who still waited patiently, watching her.

"So, where'd you want to take me?" Jessie asked.

The lead elite made a picture or symbol with its hands, but Jessie didn't understand what it was. When she gave him a blank stare, he motioned for her to follow him. She started towards the group of elites. The lead elite turned and said something to his friends before turning and leading her through the ship.

As they passed through rooms and halls, she continued seeing human corpses of marines and tech crew lining the floors. It seemed the elite had been right, they had successfully killed every single human on board. Finally the group stopped, and Jessie decided they must be in the bridge. There were computer terminals everywhere, and a screen next to a small holopedestal in the center of the room. Lying in a neat pile in the corner was a pile of eviscerated human bodies. The blood indicated that they had been dragged from various parts of the room to this corner.

Jessie tugged at the shirt she had recently acquired nervously. The elites had brought her here on purpose, but what that purpose was she didn't know. She watched as the lead elite tapped in a few controls on the console. After a few moments, she watched as he spoke aloud. To her surprise, the machine responded in English,

"Does this translator work?"

The other elites seemed to notice it as well, as they inclined their heads at him. He tapped a few buttons and a data chip popped out. Then he went to the corner and rummaged through the bodies carefully. From one severed head he pulled a headset, and found its partner a moment later. He ejected a data chip and slipped the new one inside. Then he handed the headset to Jessie. She slipped it on and the translating box into her pocket. The elite then spoke.

"I am 'Meramee. This is 'Nebalee and 'Basamanee, and we are among the Stage one Konuelos. Do you know this ship very well?"

The question took Jessie off-guard. Did she know the ship well? What did that mean? Apparently the other elites were confused as well. 'Nebalee turned to him and asked,

"What do you mean? Do you intend on leaving her here?"

"I intend on leaving her here until I can contact 'Lytamee. As our spokesperson, he can make the decision on whether or not to turn her over to the Prophets for questioning." 'Meramee replied.

Jessie was dumbstruck. "Are you being nice to me?"

"No, I am doing my duty. Here is a map. You may have to go through a few killzones, as we are not particularly concerned with cleaning up the bodies at this time. You will have to be moved, of course, but until I have discussed the matter with 'Lytamee you may stay here." 'Meramee handed her a wierd-looking device. He showed her how to turn it on before continuing. "And don't try to leave. You are in Covenant space. I must ask you one thing, though: Why do you seem to know nothing of the ship?"

"I'm a civilian. I don't know what happened, but here I am." Jessie replied resignedly.

"I see. Thank you human. I will find you shortly." 'Meramee turned to leave, two baffled-looking Konuelo following him out.

Jessie stared at the door for a moment before coming to her senses. Now alone, she could think through what had just happened. She followed the map 'Meramee had given her to the barracks. The first one she entered contained dead marine bodies, but after a little searching she found a room with a bed and no dead bodies or bloodstains. She collapsed onto the bed, her body finally relaxing, and collapsed into sobs. She cried herself to sleep, the realization reaching her that her life would never be the same again.

'Lytamee sat in the Phantom, giddy from his meeting with the Heirarchs. They had praised him for the successful capture of the human frigate they called _Bandwidth_. He had accepted the praise but turned down the promotion they offered him. He loved being the leader of the Stage 1 Konuelos.

As 'Lytamee and Korajyra approached the wreaked human ship, 'Lytamee noticed something odd about the ship. It took him a moment to realize that although the dissection teams were scheduled to begin today, none could be seen anywhere nearby. The phantom flew into the hangar bay of the _Bandwidth_, and 'Lytamee was surprised by the fact that there was only one Spirit dropship in its bay. Confused, he and Korajyra dismounted.

Thankfully, 'Meramee appeared from the hallway, apparently to meet him. "'Meramee! What's going on? Why are the dissection teams not here?" 'Lytamee asked him.

"'Lytamee, I must tell you a few things. First of all, two cycles ago, when I was mapping out the ship, I came across a human woman. She was in some kind of sleeping state, and 'Nebalee accidentally woke her. Since then I have been helping her to survive in the ship."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?" 'Lytamee cried.

"You were meeting with the Prophets." 'Meramee replied.

"Then why didn't you turn her in to the Prophets? They could have tortured her and gleamed important information!" 'Lytamee was beside himself with frustration.

"She's a civilian." 'Meramee explained.

This caught 'Lytamee off-guard. _A civilian?_ "What was a civilian doing in a military vessel?"

"I don't know, sir. I would like to bring you to her so you can decide what to do with her. It would be best if you made the choice, not me," 'Meramee explained.

'Lytamee gave his friend a weird look. _There must be something special about this human, or 'Meramee wouldn't have been so nice to her._ 'Lytamee thought. He inclined his head and followed as 'Meramee led him through the ship to the human woman's chambers. As they moved through the halls, 'Lytamee noticed that although the bloodstains still remained, the corpses of the dead humans were gone.

"Has she been cleaning?" 'Lytamee asked.

"Yes. She has trouble living in disorder, as it seems." 'Meramee replied. "She also has salvaged a small computer. But what she does with it is beyond me."

The two Sangheili and one Yanme'e reached the barracks. To 'Lytamee's complete and utter surprise, there was not only no bodies, but the blood had also been cleaned away.

"She lives mostly in here." 'Meramee explained. "Her name is Jessie... That is all she goes by. She should be inside."

'Meramee rapped on the door.

This is the journal of Jessamyn Lett, a woman who was evacuated from her home, lost all of her belongings, and is now in the clutches of the Covenant. I have salvaged this laptop from the remains of the ship I am on, the UNSC _Bandwidth_. It is the second day since I woke up to the Covenant soldiers on the ship. In the meantime I have been scourging the rations from the mess hall, sleeping in the bunk belonging to Lieutenant Demeter, and showering and washing my clothes in the ship-board showers. I have seen a few of those aliens recently, the ones called 'elites', but haven't let them see me. I also spoke to that 'Meramee guy earlier today, he says that Erpa 'Lytamee is arriving later today and he'll want to see me. I hope he doesn't kill me like they did to the rest of the crew.

It took me all day the first day to get the bodies out of the way. In that one day, I think I threw up enough and cried enough to put any one person in the history of humankind to shame. I haven't really given myself much time to think about this, but now that I'm writing, what is going to happen to me? Everyone I ever knew was killed on Troy, at least that's what I think. I didn't recognize any of the other evacuees. I don't even think the Covenant would care much. Although that 'Meramee was nice to me when I first woke up, he's been staying distant the whole time, like I could be killed at any moment. I don't know what to do, and the food and water supply on this ship is starting to dwindle.

Now that I've gotten that out, I feel a lot better. Maybe now I can get ready for this 'Lytamee to arrive.

Jessie

There was a knocking on the door and Jessie put her laptop away. She smoothed out her oversized shirt and made sure she still had the small pistol she had hidden in her pocket in case of an emergency. She took a moment to steady herself before she approached the door and keyed it open.

Before her stood the now-familiar form of 'Meramee. Beside him stood a new elite, probably 'Lytamee. Next to 'Lytamee stood an alien of a totally new kind she had never seen. It looked like an oversized insect wearing bulky armor. The sight sickened her.

"This is Erpa 'Lytamee, the leader of our group. 'Lytamee, this is Jessie, the human we found." 'Meramee introduced each of them to each other.

'Lytamee was almost as tall as 'Meramee, but he was more imposing somehow, as if he carried more responsibility. Jessie unconsciously fidgeted and tapped her headset, as if to make sure it was still there. Finally, 'Lytamee spoke.

"So, you're Jessie Lett."

"Uh... Yeah." Jessie replied nervously.

"What should I do with you?" 'Lytamee asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Jessie didn't like the sound of this. 'Lytamee made it sound like she was something to be transported or destroyed on a whim.

"Now I see it two ways. Either you die or you live. And if you live it'd have to be with us. Me and my team. If the Hierarch find out about your existence, they would probably have you imprisoned, tortured for strategic information, and then killed."

"Oh. So I have to live with you?"

'Lytamee was suddenly in her face, staring down at her. "But in order for me and my team to accept you, we need to clear something up. I don't know what propaganda your UNSC uses, but this must be clear. We are not the genocidal monsters I'm sure we've been portrayed as. You are."

"Excuse me?" Jessie almost stumbled under the intenseness of 'Lytamee's words and breath.

"See, we of the Covenant Combine are all driven by a religious truth revealed to us by the Ancients. Through our Hierarchs, we have been called to extinguish humanity, for they are a plague on the universe."

Jessie almost burst into tears. _This_ is what drove the Covenant? She knew religion was a huge founder of war, but this was absurd!

"But like you, we do have hearts. I look at you right now and don't see a devil, a see a woman who has lost everything, and wants a second chance at life. Am I right?" 'Lytamee stepped back, allowing Jessie room to breathe again.

"Um... yes." She finally said.

"Good. Now we understand each other." 'Lytamee suddenly changed his air completely, as if he was done intimidating her and she had passed some kind of test. "You really don't have any useful information for us, do you?"

"No. I don't know what you'd get from me. I don't know any information useful to the war." Jessie said, still nervous.

"I didn't think so. And I know that if you were Sangheili, I would have you released. The problem is that I have no way of returning you to human space. So I will speak with my team about whether or not we will be able to incorporate you into our life. I will meet you again tomorrow morning." 'Lytamee said, his intimidating overtone gone.

"Okay. Bye." Jessie said, her nervousness beginning to ebb.

'Lytamee inclined his head, turned, and strode from the room. 'Meramee and his buggy friend followed him, and Jessie closed the door. She collapsed back onto her bed and said to the door,

"Thanks."


	6. Chapter 5: Captured

**Chapter Five – Capture**

"So, what'dya think of her?" 'Meramee asked as they left the _Bandwidth_.

"Well, she was... different." 'Lytamee admitted. He had been slightly unnerved by her lack of visible fear of him. She was definitely different from every other human he had ever seen.

"I have to agree. Why do you want to bring her with us?" 'Meramee asked curiously.

"There's something about her... Oh, I don't know. If she were a Sangheili I'd have no problem with sending her back to High Charity. But somehow I can't bring myself to stick her through when she's a civilian who has the dignity to stand up to me. The first chance I get, I'm sending her back to human space." 'Lytamee said.

"How will we be able to sustain her in secret? Even if everyone agrees, there's still the risk of her being caught by other Sangheili." 'Meramee said worriedly. "And we can't let too many people in on our plan."

"No. We will cover it with the Ship Master, and then we'll section off a part of the ship, saying we have orders from the Ship Master, who is transferring something for the Hierarchs. Then, when we get into human space, we will deploy with her and release her into her space. That would work, no?" 'Lytamee explained his plan.

"It should work. I'll see if the other Konuelo will agree." 'Meramee said.

"Thanks. I'll clear it with the Ship Master." 'Lytamee said, clapping a hand on 'Meramee's shoulder. "You're a great person 'Meramee."

"Oh, it's nothing." 'Meramee replied. The dropship flew through space towards the Covenant ship _Great Prophet_, each of its two occupants lost in thought.

Well, it's been an interesting day. 'Lytamee showed up yesterday saying that he was willing to help me survive in his society, where it seems if I were to be found, I would be killed or tortured or something. I hope they accept me. 'Lytamee said he'd come today. If he does, I need to be more prepared. He is really scary! And I hope he doesn't bring that creepy bug friend of his.

Oh well, I'll write again when the encounter with 'Lytamee's done.

Jessie

Jessie toweled herself dry and grabbed the dry pair of clothes from the rack. She hung up the ones she had just washed for tomorrow, and slipped into the dry set. Feeling clean, Jessie strode out of the bathroom and down the hall towards her room. She turned the corner and almost fell over with surprise.

Standing before the door to her room stood 'Lytamee and his insectoid friend. 'Meramee was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh... hi." Jessie nervously ran a hand through her hair. She realized she didn't have her headset on, so she swiftly fumbled it over her head.

"Hello. Did I startle you?" 'Lytamee asked coolly. He was nothing like he had been the day before. He seemed more friendly and more comfortable with talking with her.

"A little." Jessie ran her hands down her sides, trying to calm herself. There was a pause as each expected the other to speak.

"Are you willing to live on meat and soup?"

'Lytamee's question caught Jessie off-guard. "Um... yeah."

"Good. What we're going to do is bring you with us on the _Great Prophet_ and section off a part of the ship where you can live. I or 'Meramee will be with you most of the time, at least in the beginning. Once you and the Konuelo get used to living together we will not stay with you." 'Lytamee eyed Jessie's clothes, the same ones she wore every day. "Should we get you new clothes?"

"No. Human clothes are fine with me." Jessie replied, touched by the unorthodox offer.

"Well, we're going to need to leave now. The dissection teams are itching to get aboard." 'Lytamee said.

"Dissection teams?" Jessie asked nervously.

"Yes. They take the ship apart to search for a weakness." 'Lytamee explained. "We are at war, after all."

"Okay. I take it I should get everything?" Jessie asked.

"Yes. We should leave within the hour."

'Lytamee stepped aside, letting Jessie into her room. She quickly grabbed a bag and gathered up her belongings. Finally she slipped her laptop into the side of her bag and stepped past 'Lytamee to get her other set of clothes from the bathroom. She returned to 'Lytamee, who waited patiently for her.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah." Jessie replied. She slung her bag over her shoulder and her hand fell to her side, where her pistol was still hidden.

"Then we should go." 'Lytamee started off, his insect friend with him. Jessie fell into step behind, keeping her distance from the creature.

"Ah," 'Lytamee said as they walked, "I should probably introduce you to Korajyra. He has been my best friend for a while now. It is because of me that he was able to join the Konuelo."

"Hi." Jessie said. Korajyra turned back to face her and acknowledge her greeting. Knowing his name and that he was 'Lytamee's best friend did little to dissipate the discomfort he caused.

'Lytamee led Jessie to the hangar, where she beheld a Spirit Covenant dropship. It was much less imposing sitting here in the _Bandwidth_'s hangar then the news had made it seem. Here it just seemed like a big piece of junk. The Sangheili, Yanme'e, and human entered the cockpit, and Jessie marveled at the Covenant technology.

"Those are all holograms?" she asked in amazement.

"Yes." 'Lytamee closed all the hatches and powered up the ship. Korajyra took the copilot's seat. "You may want to grab hold of something since you don't fit in our chairs. I usually don't fly."

Jessie grabbed onto a rod near the ceiling, and her grip held as 'Lytamee rocketed out of the hangar.

As 'Lytamee flew to the Covenant ship nearby, he sent out the message - the OK for the dissection teams to take apart the _Bandwidth_.

Jessie was whisked through the interior of the _Great Prophet_, for both her safety and the safety of the Covenant's secrets. She was not able to see the way to her section of the ship, and no other aliens could see her. It was slightly uncomfortable, being wheeled around and hiding in a crate pretending to be a secret weapon.

When she finally got out, Jessie found she was in a huge purple hallway, and she was surrounded by similar-looking light-blue armored Sangheili. Jessie could only pick out 'Lytamee and Korajyra, as she had spent the last hour or so with them in the dropship. That ride had given her a new understanding of the Covenant's inner workings, as they had received many hails of various types, and 'Lytamee had been kind enough as to grace her with an explanation.

Jessie was starting to get to like the guy, as he was nothing like the rampant killing monster the news made him out to be. He reminded her of a guy she had dated in high school. That thought made her realize she was beginning to think of him less and less of a monster. She didn't know if that was a good thing.

"You are the human called 'Jessie'."

One Sangheili stepped forwards. At first she hadn't noticed him, since to her all the elites except 'Lytamee looked the same to her. Then she noticed that his armor was gold, and blushed as she realized how obviously unique he was.

"Yeah." She said nervously. Just because she was warming up to 'Lytamee didn't mean she liked other Sangheili any more than before.

"I am Ship Master Zula 'Bobonsoree. Welcome aboard my ship. You are to be under the supervision of 'Lytamee or 'Meramee at all times. There are sufficient living quarters in the areas sectioned off for you, and there is a mess hall and other useful areas. The illusion is that the Stage 1 Konuelos are living here. They will be, but so will you. I have given you a sub-room separated from the rest of the sangheili. I will tell you now that the first chance we get to send you back to human space we will, so don't get too used to living here. I can't imagine you would." The Ship Master looked down on her coldly, obviously not as welcomingly as his words made it sound. "And I want you to never -"

'Bobonsoree was interrupted by a ping from his comm unit.

"Yes, what is it. This is important."

"What? The _Truth and Reconciliation_ has arrived, and they have demon prisoners? We must meet with them. Send word that I am sending Erpa 'Lytamee Konuelo and some others to check on this. Soon the Konuelo should move back to the - never mind." The Ship Master turned back to 'Lytamee. "Pick five men to accompany you. And Korajyra, you'll have to stay here. Despite the fact that you are a Konuelo, you are still Yanme'e, and this is a task only the Sangheili may undertake in."

With that, 'Bobonsoree left.

"'Meramee, 'Terashee, 'Mubelee, 'Underasee, you're coming with me. Korajyra, you know the layout of this ship, and Jessie's boundaries. Show her around, and get to know her. We don't want to be strangers. With these new improvements, we may have more to deal with than just returning her home." 'Lytamee dished out orders, much to the dismay of Jessie and Korajyra. Both were incredibly uncomfortable around each other.

With that, the Konuelo dispersed, leaving Yanme'e and human alone.

"Um... I guess I have to show you around." Chirruped Korajyra. He began to head out towards the barracks. Jessie followed, humming a song to occupy her mind and distract her from the discomfort caused by being shown around by an insect.

"What is that?" Korajyra asked after a time.

"What, music?" Jessie said, surprised. "Don't you guys have music?"

"Well, yes." Korajyra began.

The five Sangheili sat in the spirit, their pilot flying them to the _Truth and Reconciliation_. 'Terashee finally spoke up.

"I agree with 'Bobonsoree."

"About what?" 'Lytamee asked.

"About the human." 'Terashee said the word with utter contempt.

"What, Jessie? You already agreed to help her get home." 'Lytamee said.

"But why not kill her? It'd be so much easier!" 'Terashee exclaimed.

"Would you kill her if she was Sangheili?" 'Lytamee asked.

"You can't make that statement!" 'Underasee entered the discussion. "She's an infidel, and so she must die. I don't know why I agreed to do this in the first place."

"Do the scriptures of the Forerunner not speak of fellowship and harmony?" 'Lytamee exclaimed.

"Yes. They also teach of the eradication of sins." 'Terashee said.

"And the Hierarchs were right about the humans. They are infidels, and must be cleansed." 'Underasee added.

"So you would simply kill a frightened child who fell into the hands of her worst nightmares." 'Lytamee said.

"Yes, if the Gods willed it." 'Terashee said with conviction. "We should just kill her and be done with it."

"You black-hearted bastard." With those surprising words, 'Lytamee stood up and went around to the other troop bay, where he could be away from the rest of the Konuelo. As he sat fuming, he heard 'Meramee approach.

"Don't worry. If you keep Jessie safe, I can help keep them from betraying us to the Prophets."

"Thanks 'Meramee."

'Lytamee and 'Meramee were a good four meters in front of the other three sangheili, not wanting to get into another argument before the Ship Master. When they reached the bridge, however, they found Zeka 'Paumee and his Unggoy in the bridge. 'Paumee's armor had nicks and scratches to show after the battle he had fought at Sigma Octanus.

"'Paumee! It's nice to see you again. I take it your raid of the human planet was successful?" 'Lytamee greeted the Zealot with kind words, belaying the fury that still hovered inside him from the argument on the dropship. Before 'Paumee could answer, alarms went off all over the bridge.

"What the hell?" 'Lytamee asked, looking around wildly.

"The prisoners are escaping, and we have human invaders in Hangar Bay 7!" a Sub-Commander cried.

"Oh no!" 'Lytamee drew his plasma rifle and turned to the other Konuelo. "Come, we must help defend this ship!" turning back to 'Paumee, he asked, "I will be back, but I must know. Did you get the Ancient's artifact?"

"Yes. Now go and kill the infidels with the Ancient's blessing."

The words stung at him, but he shrugged them off and dashed down the hall towards the hangar bay. He slipped into active camouflage with the rest of his squad, and they slowed. There was fighting up ahead. 'Lytamee rounded the corner and found - Covenant fighting Covenant? There was a huge platoon of Covenant around the next bend, and taking advantage of the cover was a Sangheili and a Demon.

"What is going on?" 'Lytamee said to no one in particular. The two spun around and the rest of 'Lytamee's Konuelos opened fire. Sensing the direction each was coming from, the Demon and sangheili opened fire. The Demon's needles were useless now, as all of their enemies were invisible, but the Sangheili's plasma rifles were deadly. 'Underasee screamed as plasma washed over his face. He collapsed, his camo fading away.

"Fall back!" 'Lytamee cried, narrowly avoiding a plasma bolt himself. Once they were all safely behind cover, he holstered his plasma rifle and drew his plasma sword. Keeping it inactive, he snuck around to the Demon and Sangheili, who were watching closely for their foes.

"What's going on?" 'Lytamee asked the Sangheili. "Why is the Demon aiding you?"

"Uhh, haven't you noticed the Demon has turned Heretic? Those Unggoy and Kig-Yar were trying to kill him earlier, I tried to explain to them that he's our ally now. But they did not listen and tried to kill him and then me." The Sangheili replied. She surprised 'Lytamee – she was female.

"Excellent. There's humans up ahead, we should go flush them out." 'Lytamee said quietly. He double-tapped his comm unit to signal the other three Sangheili. "The Demon has defected to our ally. Let's move forward."

The four Konuelo ghosted past the Spartan and Sangheili, both of who never noticed the scowls the Konuelo gave them.

Covenant had formed up in the corridor, and 'Lytamee and the three Konuelo moved through, searching for humans. Finally, after failing to find them, he asked a nearby Sangheili where the humans had gone.

"They've holed themselves up in the brig. We're having trouble getting them out."

'Lytamee thanked him and made his way to the brig. There he found the blast doors sealed and locked from the inside. "Well, they have to come out sometime." 'Lytamee muttered. "'Meramee, you and I will take the left, you two take the right. We'll ambush them when they try to leave."

Plasma charges were planted near the doors to the brig and the four Konuelo backed out of the way. The door went up in a great green explosion, and Covenant and human traded fire. Before 'Lytamee and his men knew what was going on, the humans had slipped past them and made for the hangar bays.

"Konuelo, follow them!" he muttered into his comlink. The four Sangheili dashed down the hall, following the sound of gunfire and plasma explosions that announced the place of the well-armed humans.

'Lytamee burst into the hangar just as four Spirits blasted from it. He dashed to the last spirit, the one they had come in, and powered it up.

"Is everyone in here?" he asked. Three green lights winked on, and 'Lytamee blasted the Spirit from the bay.

'Lytamee and the Konuelo stared in shock at the spectacle before them. The humans who had freed the prisoners were fleeing the Covenant ship – and were setting down in High Charity's hangar bay!

Finally the Spirit neared the bay. He looked inside, but saw it overrun with humans and a single sangheili who definitely looked to be helping the humans. He recognized the Heretic Sangheili after a moment.

"That lying bitch!" With no thought of the consequences, he accelerated the Spirit into the hangar, opening fire on the female Sangheili.

"Um... sir? What are you doing?" 'Meramee asked nervously, recognizing one of 'Lytamee's blind furies.

"Killing a heretic." He replied maliciously.

It was hard to tell what came first; the deafening explosion of a massive plasma ordinance, or the horrifying roar of a Lekgolo hunter; however, the explosion was the equivalent of a Wraith tank entering the battle, sending humans flying through the air as cargo crates were sent flying into the bay, dangerous projectiles hurled at incredible speed by the blast, smoke billowing forward as the roar grew louder and louder, a bright blue light flickering to life within the dark cloud, bouncing with heavy steps that thundered on the deck, even as the Spirit drove in its attack.

Automatic weapons fire immediately trained on a massive silhouette, those farther from the doors watching as marines moved into what cover remained nearby, only for their silhouettes to be burned on their retinas; an eerie after image of their fleeting existence as plasma fire washed over them, vaporizing metal, flesh, and bone.

"It's a HUNTER!" Screamed a marine, but others knew better; this was much more than a Hunter, as he drove forward from the ruin he had caused... gleaming white immaculate armor shimmered under the purple haze of Covenant lighting, bullets pinging off of it's mighty shield, unable to even scratch the canto of Truth. A cyan eye of artificial make burned with his hate, his roar shaking to the very core of one's being; the skulls of heretics clacked upon his back, as well as the helmet of a Spartan...

"_**BEHOLD! DELIVERANCE IS AT HAND!**_" it roared, as from behind it the smoke contrails resolved themselves into wisps of shadow, coalescing around the bodies of de-cloaking Demon Hunters, Inquisitors, and fearsome Black Templars, wicked green energy blades hissing fourth, all of their helmet's ocular receivers flashing with the same fire as they leapt forward with incredible speed and agility, fire belching fourth from their left hands upon any nearby.

They were greeted by gunfire, especially the horrifying hunter; one marine attempted to put him down with well placed rounds in the back, the bullet-proof overlay crumpling under a burst, before with a simple sidestep; spines removed the soldier's head and torso from the rest of his body, the plasma cannon leveling on a Spartan, glowering with white fire.

"_**See the price of HERESY!**_" With that, the enormous weapon boomed a shaped plasma ball, screeching forward in a shimmer of white light.

The heretic dove aside, rolling to avoid 'Lytamee's plasma blasts. She noticed a human rocket launcher on the ground she stood up and grabbed the rocket-firing weapon. She held it with one hand, and in the other she held her plasma rifle.

She trained the rocket at the leader of the Covenant Inquisition; if it hit him that would be great, but at least throwing his aim off would be good enough. She fired.

'Lytamee spotted the rocket as it lanced away from the heretic, heading for the Inquisition leader, the Hand of Truth. He sprayed plasma at her again and she dodged, going into camouflage as she evaded out of the way. Getting frustrated, 'Lytamee activated a thermal reading. Suddenly the heretic appeared on the readings...

...and so did her second rocket.

"JUMP!" was all he had time to yell; he accelerated the Spirit at the last moment and failed to swerve. The rocket slammed into the bulk of the ship, blasting it apart and sending the cockpit flying to the ground. 'Lytamee lay stunned in his seat a moment, then turned back, searching for the other Konuelo. They had been caught in the apex of the blast.

"NO! 'Meramee!" 'Lytamee screamed in grief and anger. He stood up and stepped out of the ruins of the dropship, looked around at the chaos and death, and activated his camouflage. This heretic would die today. He slipped out into the fight, his plasma sword at the ready. As humans got in his way he killed them, and as he scoured the hangar he finally spotted the Sangheili, who promptly reactivated her camo. But she had been spotted.

"You will die today traitor, for all the lives you have ended."

The heretic moved up to the second level, closely followed by 'Lytamee. She grabbed a Covenant beam rifle and fired upon a pair of Kig-Yar jackals, downing them just before she was swarmed by Unggoy rebels. The cursed vermin had the nerve to begin a second Rebellion! 'Lytamee would have to fix that. He grabbed a nearby human body, and draping it in front of him he moved towards her. She glanced at him, but in passing he appeared to be only another marine. Then she did a double-take. The marine fell to the ground at her feet.

"Now you will die, traitor."

He activated his plasma sword, his Konuelo camo still holding firm.

She spotted his glowing sword and raised her rocket launcher. It was aimed near his feet, as she didn't know exactly where he was. She took a few steps back so she wouldn't be caught in the possible blast. She then appeared as her camo deactivated. 'Lytamee almost jumped at the sight of the heavy weapon pointed at the ground below him.

"Well, I think you're out-gunned." The heretic said. She took a quick second and took the plasma rifle from her belt in her other hand. She fired, spraying 'Lytamee's position with plasma bolts.

Plasma flashed past 'Lytamee. His sword betraying his position, the plasma hit his armor, temporarily weakening his cloaking. 'Lytamee dove to the side and side-handed an active plasma grenade at the heretic. He hit the ground in an awkward roll, the pain from the plasma bolts searing forth. He slipped back to his feet, letting his cloaking retake effect as the plasma burned the ground where he had stood a moment before.

The heretic vanished as her camo activated; she took a slight blast from the grenade. She fired the rocket launcher... but 'Lytamee easily dodged it, instead sending it soaring into a crowd of Heretic Unggoy and a few Jiralhanae. The explosion from the rocket colliding with a Jiralhanae caused a massive boom and balls of flame erupted from the Unggoy's Methane tanks.

She played Lytamee's game, but she had the advantage since she had no sword. She saw the slight shimmer and fired. Instead of Lytamee a completely different Sangheili was blown away, a Sangheili Sungheisa. The Sangheili soared through the air, firing his needler to his death.

_Oh god..._ 'Lytamee thought, standing back up. His cloaking was useful, but with the plasma sword he had trouble evading vision. Switching tactics, the Sangheili deactivated the sword and drew his plasma rifle.

"Come out, come out, traitorous wretch!" 'Lytamee opened fire, slamming plasma into a human nearby, slaying the surprised man. He sidestepped a plasma stream coming from the nearby air. 'Lytamee dove to the side. He opened fire on the invisible Sangheili, but she was gone already. He quickly moved from his current position, so the Sangheili could not find him.

The heretic must have spotted his tactic, as suddenly she faded into view, a rocket flying one way and plasma spraying wildly the other way. 'Lytamee spotted the rocket and dove to the side as it blasted at the ground next to him. Suddenly plasma splayed over him, two bolts hitting his breast. He fell onto his back, his plasma rifle skidding across the ground. His cloaking failed temporarily as the bolts overheated his cloaking device.

"Gotcha." The heretic leveled the rocket launcher at him, her strong figure capable of leveling both launcher tube and plasma rifle at 'Lytamee. 'Lytamee lay there a moment, waiting for his camo to reactivate. It didn't.

"Aw crap."

She put her hoof on Lytamee's chest and kicked the plasma rifle away with her other hoof. "Are you going to play nice now, or am I going to have to finish you with this little friend?" She said, aiming the rocket launcher down at Lytamee's chest with a smile, knowing she had bested a Stage One Konuelo.

"Oh, I would like your sword too. Will took mine." She said as she leaned down, the launcher's 102mm barrels staring Lytamee right in the face, so close the barrel's touching his mandibles.

"So, how 'bout you give up. You're free of penalties if you surrender here and now. Later, well, let's just say the humans kinda want revenge..." She smiled maliciously.

"Interesting..." 'Lytamee said. He looked up the rocket launcher and his hand went to his plasma sword. "I must say, you must need to be caught up on antiques. Ya see," 'Lytamee indicated the plasma sword, "this here is an original plasma sword. It has some nice functions, but the only one you're worried about is the fact that it can't work for anyone except me.

"By the way," 'Lytamee continued, "you're forgetting something. You're empty." He flicked on the sword and severed the rocket launcher tube. The empty halves fell to the ground as the sangheili ran his sword through the heretic's leg.

She kicked his sword arm aside. His blind determination had made him miss the part where she had adjusted her leg at the last moment. The cauterized wound went a full third of the way into her leg, but her leg was not severed as he had expected. The plasma sword slid across the floor in the other direction, and 'Lytamee found himself staring at a now slightly-more-than-pissed-pissed off Sangheili with a plasma rifle.

"Nice try." She whacked 'Lytamee on the head, knocking him out.


End file.
